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Roberto Luongo faces Cory Schneider: Devil of a showdown

Vancouver Canucks welcome the New Jersey Devils to Vancouver on Tuesday night

Cory Schneider #35 of the New Jersey Devils steers the puck aside during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center on September 26, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey.Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Schneider knows he can’t avoid the glare of meeting up with Luongo, who had his No. 1 job taken by the younger Schneider but later regained it when Schneider was dealt to the Devils at the NHL draft last June for the 10th overall pick (Bo Horvat) because Luongo’s contract was untradeable.

“I’m not making a big deal about but I can’t avoid talking about it,” said Schneider, who’s now splitting time with future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. “Sure I want to outplay Roberto … it’s not me vs. him, but generally you want to be better than the other guy.”

Schneider says he didn’t ask New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer to play the game in Vancouver and didn’t go the other way and beg off, trying to dodge the confrontation everybody’s been salivating over.

The Devils have 24 back-to-backs games this season, more than any other NHL team, so Brodeur and Schneider know they’ll be rotating for those ones. Brodeur is getting the nod in Edmonton on Monday night.

Schneider says he owes Luongo for not kicking him to the curb as a young guy coming in with the Canucks.

“Roberto was really open and embraced me as a younger guy when he was playing a lot of games,” said Schneider. “I learned a lot from him, on the ice and off. He dealt with some tough situations, fair or not, and he put on a smile and did what was best for the team. That’s not easy, especially for somebody who has accomplished as much as he has and has as much pride. He supported me, and put the team first. I was really impressed with that.”

It would have been easy to get sour, to divide a dressing room, but that’s not Luongo’s makeup. He was hurt to lose his No. 1 status and was choked up when the Canucks didn’t trade him at the deadline last March, only to be blindsided when Schneider moved and the Canucks wanted to kiss and make up this summer.

Ultimately, he’s a pro.

“He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody, outside the dressing room,” Schneider said of Luongo.

Schneider sees a lot of the same stuff in Luongo and Brodeur, conceding he’s still getting to know his Devils teammate, who coincidentally lost the starting job to Luongo on the 2010 Canadian Olympic squad.

“They are both very confident in themselves, they both know they’re elite goalies who’ve been through a lot, seen every circumstance,” Schneider said. “They’re both unflappable.”

Luongo was the unwitting victim in Vancouver.

Vancouver Canuck goaltenders Roberto Luongo, right, and Cory Schneider are seen during day two of training camp at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, January, 14, 2013.

“We were forced into this (who was the No. 1) in Vancouver,” Schneider said of the daily soap opera that took on a life of its own. “I hope I’ve learned from my experience there.

“I’m going to be there 24 hours, it (trade) was only five months ago,” he added. “I’m not going to get all nostalgic.”

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, who had been sniffing around Schneider for a few years before getting him in June, knowing full well he had to have a succession plan in place for when Brodeur retired, has said that Schneider “was the perfect guy” to come in to work with the 41-year-old legend.

What qualities does a goalie need to work with a guy with 669 wins?

“I don’t know. I don’t have to work alongside myself,” laughed Brodeur. “I only met Cory at training camp. For us, he’s the future. It could be as early as … who knows when?”

“Lou and I have talked and I told him I’m not going to play forever. Three years ago he was really interested in Cory, but it was hard to get him, now he got this chance (giving up a 10th overall pick) and couldn’t pass it up. He’s going to be good for a long time. It’s a great luxury to have him on our team.”

Goalie Roberto Luongo, from Montreal, Que., leaves the boarded up ice surface during a ball hockey training session at the Canadian national men’s team orientation camp in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013